


Hope

by Inquisitor_emi



Series: Spiritus Immundus [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Consensual Possession, Gen, Spoilers - Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance, riku is a beacon of hope man, this scene was so relaxing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2019-01-05 05:16:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12183609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inquisitor_emi/pseuds/Inquisitor_emi
Summary: Riku meets three faces inside of Sora's heart. However, he didn't expect one of them to be of pure darkness.





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

> Finally finished Dream Drop Distance! Now its time to search for the all the Special Portals and fight Pete's Frankenstein distant cousin. -groans- In celebration, I thought I'd throw in a fic that happens at the end of Dream Drop Distance! Plus, I wanted to try my hand at writing Riku! Thank you everyone who has left comments and Kudos! You're awesome and enjoy this new one!

Riku stared up at the familiar territory of Destiny Islands and he closed his eyes for a brief moment. This was Sora’s dream, but the cool ocean breeze brushed gently against his face made him think it was all real. He could hear the waves rolling across the sand before drifting back into the ocean. _Home...feels like ages since I've been here honestly._ Riku thought, relaxed. There would be no fighting here, not in this peaceful place.

 

He turned to walk away from the edge of the pier only to collide with Roxas. Roxas wore the clothes he had been given in the fake Twilight Town. He looked like a normal boy ready for summer vacation. Of course, he would be here, Roxas was a part of Sora.

 

“Roxas…”

 

“What is it you are afraid of?” Roxas demanded, not bothering to respond to Riku.

 

Riku was taken back by the question. What was this? _Are you...testing me Sora?_ Riku wondered as he watched Roxas’s expression. Roxas was staring at him blankly, awaiting an answer.

 

“Losing something that’s important.” Riku answered, confidently.

 

Roxas didn't respond, just vanished. Riku frowned at the Nobodies sudden disappearance. Was that a good thing? That left Riku puzzled before he decided to walk down to the beach on the Destiny Islands. His head was down and his arms folded across his chest before he looked up.

 

Riku looked taken aback by the appearance of someone on the beach who resembled Sora.

 

The boy wore a strange black and red vein stylized armor with light crimson boots that covered his entire body. The only part uncovered was his spiky black hair and brilliant golden orbs, his face mirroring Sora’s perfectly. Unlike Roxas, darkness practically vibrated from his body. Was this Sora’s inner darkness brought to life? The boy was peering at Riku with interest, also unlike Roxas.

 

“Huh? Wh-Who are you? Why do you look like Sora?” Riku demanded, puzzled by the boy.

 

“What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?” The boy inquired. Damn, this kid even had Sora’s voice.

 

Riku blinked, another question. _Guess this is turning into a pattern._ Riku closed his eyes and focused on the question. He then answered. “My close friends.”

 

The boy gave a warily smile and he mouthed a “thank you” to Riku before fading away like Roxas had. Riku furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and looked down at the ground with his arms crossed. Why did this boy look like Sora? What was he thanking him for exactly?

 

Riku then looked up at the tree that he, Sora, and Kairi often hung out at to stare at the sunset. They laughed up there as they talked about their day, whether it be school or their day of fun. Though, Riku expected the tropical tree to be empty, but he did spot someone sitting up there, alone. Whoever it was, they were enjoying the sunset.

 

“Sora?” Riku wondered as he ran up to their hangout spot.

 

Instead of Sora, Riku came upon a girl. This girl resembled Kairi and Namine, only, she had chin length black hair and wore an Organization XIII robe. Her raven black hair was waving gently with the breeze as she stared out at the sun setting in the distance. _Who is this…? Wait...I feel like...like I know her. Where have I seen her before?_ Riku gawked at the girl as he got closer to her. Her gaze was melancholy, her lips pressed in a thin line as she turned to him.

 

“Who…?”

 

“Riku. What do you wish?”

 

Riku shouldn't be surprised by another question. “Another question huh…”

 

Riku decided to join her. He laid against the tree branch and folded his arms across his chest. Riku stared out at the sun setting and the way it lit up the ocean. It was so serene here. Sora was like that, a peaceful and happy kid. This Destiny Island greatly reflected what Sora was like in his heart.

 

“To recover something important that I lost.”

 

After answering, Riku found himself on the beach, alone once again. _The sun and ocean look beautiful..._ Riku remarked with a serene expression. Suddenly though, he blinked and spotted a green bottle in the ocean. Was this...like the bottle with the note that he and Sora had found that had been from Kairi? Riku scooped up the bottle once it drifted up to the shore and examined it curiously.

 

“You were not the visitor I expected.” A deep voice called out to Riku.

_Wait...I know that voice._ Riku thought as he turned around to find Ansem the Wise approaching him, the scientist had his arms behind his back. What was he doing here? Riku asked the question and they began their chat along the shoreline of Destiny Islands. He apparently digitized his research and hid it inside of Sora, the bottle was the research and it could be of use to them. Sora was a miracle it seemed, according to Ansem, that he could bring back people they had lost. _How though…? How could Sora bring people back with his heart?_ Riku wondered in amazement as he listened to Ansem. His thoughts suddenly went back to the that black-haired boy with Sora’s face.

 

“Sora has a heart like that - uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When he sees the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, he may have the power to mend it.” Ansem stated as he looked out on the ocean. “He has touched countless hearts, he has accepted them, and he has saved them. And some of those hearts have never left him, whether they fell into darkness or were trapped there, whether they sleep in the darkness of Sora’s heart, or were welcomed into its warmth…”

 

Riku thought of not only the boy with Sora’s face, but the girl with black hair and Roxas as well. Who were the other two exactly? The boy with Sora’s face was filled with darkness, a darkness that Riku had never felt. It felt...pure, but it wasn’t hostile towards him. In fact, it seemed...sad someone. Now that Riku thought about it, he could see grief in that boy’s gold eyes. What had brought that boy to Sora?

 

Riku nodded and then his eyes suddenly caught a glimpse of the boy with Sora’s face in the distance, staring out at the ocean as well. He...was looking rather vulnerable, his arms hung at his side, looking rather defeated. Behind him, not twenty feet away, Riku spotted Roxas and the black-haired girl stood, hand in hand, watching the boy. They were looking with uneasy expressions.

 

Ansem too turned his head towards the two unfamilar people and Roxas with interest. “Ahh yes...the residents living within Sora’s heart. The ones who Sora can save.”

 

“I know Roxas and I recognize that girl. I don’t know from where though…” Riku trailed off as he watched the two standing with hands locked. He then looked to the boy with black hair. “Him though...I don’t know him. And he has Sora’s face too…”

 

“You can feel what the boy is, don’t you? A boy of pure darkness, full of rage and hatred. Most would consider him an abomination that is beyond hope of salvation.” Ansem stated as he watched the boy.

 

The boy stared into the sunset and he raised his hand to look at something green in his hand, Riku hadn’t even noticed that he was holding something. It looked like...a Wayfinder, a green one. Riku could see now that tears were rolling down the side of his cheek that he could see as he held the Wayfinder. The boy crumbled to his knees as he held the Wayfinder to his chest.

 

“He’s in pain...grieving…” Riku observed quietly.

 

Ansem nodded. “I misunderstood Roxas and Namine...this boy is misunderstood as well. All he knew was loneliness and hatred growing up. This poor boy never had the chance to know what happiness, friendship, or any other positive emotion was. Darkness isn’t inherently evil you see. I believe darkness can be used for good. Right now, however, this boy thinks that loneliness is coming back to consume him.”

 

Riku shook his head with a smile. “No... I don’t think that’ll happen.

 

Roxas and the girl broke into a run and wrapped their arms around the boy. The boy flinched, startled by the sudden arms wrapped around his body and he looked down at them with gold eyes in amazement. Riku saw Roxas and the girl look up at the boy with Sora’s face and saw them start to talk, but Riku couldn’t hear them. _That’s okay. I think I know what they’re saying to him._ Riku smiled as he watched them. The boy then slowly wrapped his arms around the other two and then gaped up at the sky. Through his tears, Riku saw the boy smile, a smile that wasn’t too different from Sora’s and it was one of hope.

 

_“Sora...I’ll keep my promise. I’ll protect you.”_ Riku blinked in shock when he heard the boy’s voice.

 

Ansem spoke up once again, causing Riku to look up at the older man. “That boy can be saved, they can all be saved. All Sora needs to do is be himself and follow wherever it is that his heart takes him. It is the best and only way.”

 

Ansem then gestured to the bottle. “The rest is in there.”

 

Riku tore his gaze away from Ansem and then looked down at the bottle. What could the data in the bottle do to help them? He nodded and looked up at Ansem. “Alright, thank you.”

 

“Of course. Now, why is it that you are here?” Ansem inquired with a raised eyebrow.

 

“Oh...uh...I kinda need to wake Sora up.” Riku mumbled as he watched Ansem. Trying to explain the Mark of Mastery and its following events would be difficult and it was too long of a story to speak.

 

Ansem’s eyes turned merry and a chuckled escaped from his lips. “Don’t tell me he’s gone to sleep again?”

 

“Yeah, what will I do with him?” Riku shook his head with amusement in his voice.

 

“What indeed?” Ansem and Riku shared a brief laugh as they looked out on the ocean once more.

 

“Never fear, Sora is safe.” Riku looked up at him in surprise. “He’s not here. You see, by defeating the Nightmare imprisoning Sora, you freed him.”

 

“You mean...that Black Phantom that was holding him hostage…” Riku mumbled and closed his eyes. That Phantom was in armor, an armor Riku had never seen before. The boy with Sora’s face had said thank you to him. Was that Armor related to the boy somehow?

 

“You then came here and you were questioned by the three residents of Sora’s heart. That was the final key to awaken him.”

 

Sora was awake then. Riku felt his heart race in happiness, that meant he could return to the world of awakening. Riku made the Kingdom Keyblade appear in his hand, but before he could summon the Keyhole to make his exit, his eyes fell on the residents of Sora’s heart once more.

They were now sitting on the beach, hugging their legs to their chest as they stared out at the ocean. There were smiles all around. Riku grinned before he vanished from Sora’s heart back to the Realm of Light.

 

On a late-night months later, Riku was in the hallway with that boy, whose name he would later learn was Vanitas. However, that wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. Vanitas hadn’t left Sora’s body, rather, now they shared Sora’s body. You could tell which one of them was in charge for the most part, Vanitas was rigid and guarded while Sora was carefree and open.

 

Vanitas was lying against the wall, his legs stretched out as he lounging against the wall lazily.  His one gold eye was gazing at the closest wall, uninterested in anything happening around him. Riku wondered what Vanitas was thinking about alone in the hallway. His mismatched eyes then turned towards Riku.

 

“Couldn't sleep?” Riku asked the gold eyed boy.

 

“Maybe I don't sleep.” Vanitas retorted with a grunt. Though, Riku could see the bags under his eyes.

 

“I’m pretty sure you're just as human as Sora is. You need sleep as well.” Riku replied firmly, folding his arms.

 

“Tch,” Vanitas rolled his eyes before his guarded expression became...vulnerable. Just like that day. “Sora has been having nightmares. I can see them sometimes, not always. Xehanort is always there, damn bastard. Guess I feel paranoid, I just…”

 

“Just making sure that there's nothing creeping around the corner?” Vanitas nodded slowly as he folded his arms around his chest.

 

“Sora hides a lot of his fears behind his smiles, he is just...to pure. I just want to protect him.” Vanitas stated.

 

Riku nodded. “I know, I heard you make that promise.”

 

Vanitas froze and gawked at him with a curious frown. “You mean…”

 

“I wanted to say ‘you're welcome’.” Riku responded with a sly smile before his expression turned somber. “I'm sorry about Ventus.”

 

Vanitas gawked at him in astonishment before he looked down sadly.

 

Vanitas chuckled softly and shook his head. “It's funny. Ven…. he knew this would happen. He knew that above everyone else, Sora would need me and I would need him. Sora needs to know that darkness can be used for things beyond people like Xehanort. He doesn’t have to be frightened by it. That darkness has a purpose in the worlds alongside the light. You need a balance of both.”

 

Riku nodded. “That's a....bold goal.”

 

Vanitas chuckled in amusement, his gold eye gleaming. “Says the guy who already is utilizing both light and dark, keeping them both in check. You know how hard it is to find people like that? It's difficult as hell. And Sora will still chatter about it a bit when we're resting.”

 

“Sounds like him.” Riku grinned and then let out a yawn. “I should head back to bed...you should too.”

 

Vanitas followed the yawn and he rubbed his eyes. “Yeah yeah ‘Master Riku’.”

 

Riku grinned, turning away and headed off back to bed. Out of the corner of his eye, Riku could see that Vanitas was walking out of sight, presumably to bed. Honestly, Vanitas wasn't that bad of a guy.


End file.
